Global aluminium users reported a notably softer decline in business conditions in March, as manufacturers, particularly in Asia, saw output and new orders drop at slower rates.
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Employment was relatively unchanged. Input price inflation remained subdued, while output prices rose at a faster pace.
The seasonally adjusted Global Aluminium Users Purchasing Managers Index rose from 46.9 in February to 49.4 in March, the highest reading in four months and indicative of a notably softer fall in business conditions.
Contributing to the increase in the headline PMI was a weaker decline in operating conditions at Asian aluminium users.
In addition, US users saw growth quicken for the first time since last October.
In contrast, conditions deteriorated at a faster rate at European users.
Output at global aluminium users fell modestly at the end of the first quarter, indicating the least marked decline in four months.
Manufacturers related this to a softer drop in demand and mitigated trade tensions between US and China.
Nevertheless, production has now contracted for six successive months.
Similarly, new orders deteriorated at the weakest rate in four months during March, notably due to a slower decline at Asian users and a return to sales growth at US users.
At the same time though, European users reported the sharpest fall in demand in six-and-a-half years due to economic uncertainty.
Meanwhile, global new export orders dropped at the least marked rate in five months.
Employment was broadly unchanged in March, after six months of back-to-back job losses.
Some businesses highlighted a need for more workers, although others reduced employment due to lower new orders.
Despite this, the level of outstanding business decreased at the fastest rate since October 2012.
Purchasing activity continued to drop in March, albeit only marginally.
Concurrently, stocks of purchases fell modestly and for the seventh month in a row.
Input prices rose at a relatively cool pace in March, with the rate of inflation fractionally lower than in February.
Firms reporting increased costs cited higher raw material prices and suppliers raising charges in the wake of political uncertainty.
Though marginal, output prices rose at the fastest rate in four months in March.
Moreover, Asian users raised charges for the first time in this period. ■